5A Girls Basketball Offseason Team Power Rankings: May 2023

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the 2022-23 High School Basketball season coming to a close and with many seniors getting ready to graduate, we look at the first team power rankings of the off-season taking into account players graduating and potential players returning as of Friday, May 12th, 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#1 Hobbs</strong> | Won the 2022-23 5A State Championship vs Volcano Vista: The Lady Hobbs Eagles won their third 5A State Championship in the past five seasons under Head Coach Joe Carpenter. They will be the obvious team to beat going into the 2023-24 season led by their group of five starters who were all sophomores this past season. <strong>Bhret</strong> <strong>Clay </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='458556' first='Brynn' last='Hargrove']</strong> will lead the way with their scoring and shooting. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='467055' first='Nakia' last='Mojica']</strong> will once again provide some of the best three-point shooting in the state. [player_tooltip player_id='467050' first='Kyndle' last='Cunningham'] and [player_tooltip player_id='467053' first='Jayla' last='David'] will return with strong post play, rebounding and defense to help the Hobbs Eagles defend their 5A State Title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#2 Sandia</strong> | Lost in the 2022-23 5A State Quarterfinals to Hobbs: The Sandia Matadors will be returning four of their five varsity starters next season and each of there four leading scorers. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='391103' first='Sydney' last='Benally']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='391104' first='Hope' last='Giddings']</strong>, <strong>Audrianna Wright</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='648210' first='Chloe' last='Brown']</strong> pose arguably the best "Big Four" in basketball due to their scoring, shooting, playmaking and defense. With another year of playoff experience, expect the Sandia Lady Matadors to make strong playoff runs for the next two seasons. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#3 Volcano Vista</strong> | Lost in the 2022-23 5A State Championship Game to Hobbs: The Volcano Vista Hawks made it to the 5A Girls State Championship for the fourth year in a row under Head Coach Lisa Villareal. Despite losing to Hobbs in the Championship Game this past season, they'll have their top three players return next season: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='357657' first='Taejhuan' last='Hill']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='391323' first='Mila' last='Espinoza']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='412420' first='Lilliana' last='Duncan']</strong>. [player_tooltip player_id='357657' first='Taejhuan' last='Hill'] is a consistent double-double threat, along with [player_tooltip player_id='391323' first='Mila' last='Espinoza']'s three-point shooting/play making and [player_tooltip player_id='412420' first='Lilliana' last='Duncan']s scoring will keep the Hawks in the hunt for another title run next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#4 La Cueva</strong> | Lost in the 2022-23 5A State Semifinals to Hobbs: After reaching the 5A Girls State Semifinals for the second straight season, the La Cueva Bears lost three key varsity starters; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='459605' first='Alexis' last='Ayers']</strong>, <strong>Karleigh Guttierez</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='459603' first='Olivia' last='Haddock']</strong>. Luckily, they will still have arguably the state's top duo, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='357673' first='Eva' last='Love']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='648191' first='Jordyn' last='Dyer']</strong>. Both can score at a high level, and it can be either players nights offensively. Along with Head Coach Marisa Cogan, expect the Lady La Cueva Bears to be once again in the mix. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#5 Farmington</strong> | Lost in the 2022-23 5A State Quarterfinals to Las Cruces: The Farmington Scorpions had the 4th best overall record during the 2022-23 season. Despite losing their second leading scorer <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='353913' first='Kamalani' last='Anitielu']</strong> to graduation, the Farmington Scorpions should still be a formidable force to be reckoned with next season. A big reason for that is because <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='391245' first='Kapiolani' last='Anitielu']</strong> is leading the way as arguably the most all-around player in the state. Her sister <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='648195' first='Kjani' last='Anitielu']</strong> will be returning as the team's third leading scorer. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->